Ahmedabad: A 71-year-old retired resident of Vastrapur has filed a complaint alleging financial fraud of more than ₹1.56 crore in the name of investment in the WTC GIFT City Tower-C project in Gandhinagar. The complaint has been submitted to CID Crime, Gandhinagar, against officials associated with WTC Noida Development Company Pvt. Ltd., including its office-bearers and others allegedly involved in the scheme.

According to the complaint filed by Purushottambhai Sajanadas Multani, he, along with his friend Omprakash Bhandari and his nephew Sonik Kanhaiyalal Multani, was approached in 2021 by a real-estate broker who introduced them to an investment scheme related to a commercial building being constructed in GIFT City, Gandhinagar. They were allegedly promised a 1% monthly return on the investment, buyback of the invested amount after two years, and an additional 12% bonus.

The complainant stated that they were taken to the corporate office of the company in GIFT City, where company representatives, including an assistant general manager, assured them that the investment was safe and that returns would be credited directly to their bank accounts after deduction of TDS. They were also told that post-dated cheques and a formal agreement would be provided as security.

Believing the assurances, the three investors booked a commercial unit in GIFT City Tower-C through Ankita Financial Pvt. Ltd. and invested money through bank cheques and RTGS transfers.

Purushottambhai Multani invested ₹39,20,840,
his nephew Sonik Multani invested ₹39,20,840,
while Omprakash Bhandari invested ₹78,41,680.

The total investment amounted to ₹1,56,83,360, which was deposited in bank accounts linked to the company.

Initially, the investors received monthly returns for some time, but the payments later stopped. The company had also issued post-dated cheques towards refund of the principal amount and bonus, but most of the cheques reportedly bounced when deposited in the bank.

The complainant alleged that despite repeated requests, the company failed to return the remaining ₹1,27,84,731 and cheated them by luring them with false promises of high returns and a guaranteed buyback.

Based on the complaint, Gandhinagar CID Crime police registered a case against Ashish Bhalla and Kamlesh Trivedi of WTC Noida Development Company under IPC Sections 409 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating), along with Section 3 of the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors (GPID) Act. Further investigation is being carried out by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW). DeshGujarat